Parliamentary Career
He contested Poole in 1959.
Williams served under Harold Wilson as Under-Secretary of State for Economic Affairs from 1967 until 1969 and then as a Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Technology until 1970 when Labour lost power. When Labour were returned to power at the February 1974 general election, Williams was made Minister of State at the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection, serving until Wilson left office in 1976. The new Prime Minister, James Callaghan, then appointed him as Minister of State at the Department of Industry in which post he served until Labour lost power to the Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher in the 1979 general election.
Williams was made a Privy Counsellor in 1977. He was a backbencher from 1989 to 2010, and chair of the Liaison Committee from 2001 to 2010. He is a Eurosceptic and was opposed to the devolution settlement that established the National Assembly for Wales.
Read more about this topic: Alan Williams
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